Ciao Venezia!

Dubbed as one of the world most beautiful cities and possibly the most romantic, it was time to head back to Venice, this time equipped with wider lenses and priceless filters! I have decided to split my Venice blog into two parts; one about general scenery and the other about Gondolas, this one will be about the scenery. The following is a snippet from Lonely Planet which gives a better overview than I ever could:

“From the look of it, you’d think Venice spent all its time primping. Bask in the glory of Grand Canal palaces, but make no mistake: this city’s a powerhouse. Venetians have flooded the world with voluptuous Venetian-red paintings and wines, music, Marco Polo spice-route flavours, and bohemian-chic fashion. And they’re not done yet. With the world’s most artistic masterpieces per square kilometre, you’d think the city would take it easy, maybe rest on its laurels. But Venice refuses to retire from the inspiration business. In narrow calli (alleyways), you’ll glimpse artisans hammering out shoes crested like lagoon birds, cooks whipping up four-star dishes on single-burner hotplates, and musicians lugging 18th-century cellos to riveting baroque concerts played with punk-rock bravado.

As you can see, all those 19th-century Romantics got it wrong. Venice is not destined for genteel decay. Billionaire benefactors and cutting-edge biennales are filling up those ancient palazzi (palaces) with restored masterpieces and eyebrow-raising contemporary art and architecture, and back-alley galleries and artisan showrooms are springing up in their shadows. Your timing couldn’t be better: the people who made walking on water look easy are already well into their next act, but don’t go expecting to have the city to yourself.”

From the moment you step off the plane you know this place was meant for couples, sadly my other half this trip was to be my tripod, so after trying to block out the couples which surround you at every moment, I plodded on and tried my hardest to not get lost in the maze that is Venice. My trip was for a week and I already had my plan sorted before I left the UK (I can never explain quite how much I love Google Earth and being able to walk down canals and alleyways before even booking my flights…), so after checking in to my hostel I set off to begin my shoot.

For the next week I worked solidly and got very little sleep, my days started at 3am for the pre-dawn shoot, which went into dawn shooting and early morning shots. I then allowed myself a quick breakfast before heading back out to shoot. Lunch was always a walking one and I worked until around 11pm, so dinner was a late one too! Whoever thinks that we travel photographers simply live on one extended holiday should think again – I was exhausted by the end of it, days spent hunting gondolas and blue hours capturing as much as possible! Venice does not make it easy for us either, the exposures were an absolute nightmare and getting the light just right was a constant battle, however the best shots are always tricky and I was really pleased with my new collection by the end of the trip. If anyone has any technical questions please do ask, I’ll write as detailed response as possible.

My favourite location, and probably everyone else’s favourite too, would have to be the waterfront by Piazza San Marco, also known as St. Mark’s Square. The view looks across the Bacino di San Marco lagoon towards San Giorgio Maggiore, and the gondolas floating in the foreground couldn’t be more photogenic! I found that the area was far too busy at sunset and so only went here for dawn, and by busy I should say crazily overcrowded, whereas at dawn it was empty bar the one or two quiet photographers searching for that perfect shot.

Although I love long exposures and blue hour shooting, I found it oddly relaxing walking through the alleys looking for my next shot. I’d often find a nice shot but the lighting would be wrong, so I’d note it down on my map and return when I thought the exposures would be better. I suppose that’s what separates the full time photographer from hobbyists, ensuring you get the best shots possible and accepting that you have to shoot it at another point sometimes – anything for your stock library!!

No-one leaves Venice without seeing the Rialto Bridge, and what’s great about it is there are so many different angles to shoot, which makes it a very busy blue hour! Although shooting from on the bridge can be tricky because of the crowds, if you have a little patience you can usually get to the front, the same goes for the canal level shots…

We may as well stick with the bridge theme and move further down the Grand Canal to the famous Ponte dell’Accademia bridge. When doing my research at home I noticed that there was a small jetty by the bridge which looked promising, and after a quick look once I arrived I thought it would be a great shot. Most shots from here are taken from on the bridge; I hadn’t seen any taken from underneath, hopefully you’ll enjoy them!

Although I loved the shots from underneath, you can’t not shoot the others, these are taken from the top of the bridge, alternating between views up the Grand Canal and towards the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute.

Speaking of the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, on one of my many wanderings I found yet another random jetty down an alleyway which provided me with the following viewpoint; one of my favourites of the trip. This particular shot was tricky as the lighting on the Basilica was quite faint, meaning a much longer exposure, thankfully my filters managed to keep the sky correctly exposed.

Well I think I’ll leave it there for this blog, I had a fantastic (and exhausting) time in Venice but I am really thrilled with the shots I managed to get when there. The next post will cover the infamous gondoliers of Venice, as trying to fit everything in just one blog was far too tricky! If you have any questions or comments please do let me know and I’ll do my best to help.